Gurugram up in inclusion score for women

BENGALURU: Bengaluru retained its No. 1 position as the top city for women in India, reaffirming its leadership in creating a balanced ecosystem across social and industrial dimensions.

Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Mumbai completed the top 5, workplace consulting firm Avtar's Top Cities for Women in India (TCWI) 2025 report showed. Gurugram stood out among the top 10, climbing to No. 6 from No. 9 last year, driven largely by gains in industrial inclusion. The 2025 edition of TCWI covered 125 cities and drew comparisons with previous editions since the year 2022. The report tracked women's inclusion across Indian cities through a longitudinal index covering participation, safety and career continuity.

Cities were ranked based on the City Inclusion Score (CIS), derived from two parameters: Social Inclusion Score (SIS) and Industrial Inclusion Score (IIS). The SIS measured a city's liveability, safety, women's representation in employment, and broader indicators of women's empowerment.

The IIS evaluated the extent to which organisations across industries were inclusive of women, reflecting workplace participation and representation, the presence of women-friendly industries, and career enablers provided by employers.

Bengaluru led with a CIS of 53.2, driven by sustained strength in industrial inclusion and career enablement. Chennai ranked second with a CIS of 49.8, continuing to excel in social inclusion, particularly in safety, public services, mobility, and access to health and education. Pune (46.2), Hyderabad (46), and Mumbai (44.4) completed the top 5, showing consistent performance across both social and industrial parameters.

The report said that Bengaluru's ease of living for women is driven by an employment-first design supported by strong safety and skilling infrastructure. Women help desks, tech-enabled and community policing reduced response times, lowering risks linked to commuting and late working hours, while NGO-led street-lighting audits improved public space safety.